Britain's Abandoned Homes

Jolyon Jenkins investigates the scandal of the million houses standing empty. With five million people on housing waiting lists the government is keen to get them back into use. This is not about second homes, or holiday homes. This is about the empty houses to be found in almost every neighbourhood - the run-down or derelict house that sticks out like a sore thumb. These buildings blight communities, attract crime and devalue neighbouring property. Potential family homes are standing empty despite the chronic housing shortage, which has got dramatically worse since the recession. House building rates have virtually collapsed and unoccupied houses are becoming a political hot potato. We investigate the reasons for the empty homes crisis in this country, focussing on properties in Bristol. Jolyon Jenkins talks to the owners, both developers and private individuals, to ask why it is that so many have been standing empty for years, and what it would take to get them lived in again.